Chapter 35 Emil
EMIL
All of us were locked down in getting this mission done well.
None of them have the satisfaction that I would gain from killing everyone at this meeting.
The glory of taking the lives of those involved in Sadie’s capture would belong to me alone.
She was mine, and it was an honor to do this for her.
It would be my triumph to end them all and know that they’d paid with their lives for endangering her and my child.
Just like the men who were there on site in Afghanistan when we found her and rescued her, a group that was expected to only hold her until this Obsidian Eye group met, they would all be six feet under.
Their blood would be on my hands, and rightfully so.
But the others were just as invested in this being a success. No one in the Dubinin organization wanted to allow enemies and rivals to gather and then threaten us. The fact that we wanted nothing to do with joining networks or clubs or alliances would distinctly categorize us as an enemy of theirs.
It was for the good of the family to end this threat.
That was the vibe we all carried. The quiet of concentration. The stone-cold faces of lethal intention. The internal pep talks any of the soldiers and spies relied on to get their heads in the game.
Ivan and Alexsei were as calm and ready as I felt. They didn’t flinch. They didn’t joke.
Like robots gearing up for labor, they waited for the moment to come.
Our flights took off without a hitch. Then on the drive toward the warehouse near the water, we rocked and rolled with the choppy and bumpy ride.
If the scenery were ever to set the tone and mood, this one did.
Broken windows and graffiti-covered walls spanned every which way in this rougher end of the neighborhood.
Thugs and druggies strolled the streets, eyes always watching and suspicious.
We arranged for beat-up cars to better blend in and not stand out, but with all the street-dwellers watching us as we neared the location, I had to wonder if the representatives sent here for this meeting had arrived in black SUVs, shiny and flashy and not at all fitting in.
Their choice of location for this meeting implied that they wanted everything to begin off the grid.
Choosing Haiti and Port-au-Prince was a clear message that no “good” business was being held here.
In a gang-filled and crime-ridden hellhole like this, they had to be hoping that zero members of any government or law enforcement agency could interfere with their meeting.
And that no corrupt members of an agency could be caught red-handed and be involved.
I had no doubt in my mind that some of Sadie’s former coworkers could be here. If not, they would glean the intel that was shared here to better infiltrate the black market to the best of their ability. For their personal gains and power.
As we’d discussed and planned, we split up and spread out.
Ambushes were easier to pull off when the element of surprise could be relied upon.
With this, though, we had to account for security measures to be put into place.
Even though these crime families wanted to band together, none of them could actually trust each other.
Like Sadie explained, none of the reigning leaders of the families wanted the direct ownership of this new group.
They needed the distance of layers and decoys to represent them.
All of them would have their own guards and spies to scope out any danger.
They wouldn’t see us. No matter how skilled these men were and how carefully they’d surveyed this area, we were already one step ahead of them.
As early as yesterday morning, under Sadie’s expert direction, we had men sneaking into the port.
Some posed as locals. Others were masking themselves as guards from other organizations.
With the heads up of which individuals were likely to show up as decoys, we already had one or two men tailing them specifically.
Here, we would all meet up again.
And within the hour, my cousins and I would lead the initial and lethal assault on them gathered in one room.
Disguised as street thugs, Ivan, Alexsei, and I strolled the nearby area.
Humidity dampened my skin. The darkness of the night forced my eyes to acclimate. But it was the sound of the team speaking through my comms unit that I relied on the most.
“Almost there,” Ivan said through his piece.
Thank fuck.
The excitement of making a kill wasn’t there this time. I wanted this project done so I could hurry home to Sadie. The rest of our lives was waiting for us, and I wanted to begin that adventure now.
A moment later, I didn’t nod in acknowledgment, just passing my cousin by on the sidewalk outside the warehouse. Like we were strangers. Like we were ordinary deviants out on the street and not murderers ready to unleash hell.
Another spy reported in. His confirmation meant he’d taken out the guards at the rear doors to the building.
Nearly there.
All we waited for now was for another soldier to sneak in to kill the power. Putting them all in the blindness of darkness would make it harder for them to escape.
We all had night-vision googles—slim ones that were state-of-the-art technology the military struggled to get their hands on—and we would be the superior predators in this hunt.
“Go.”
It was one word. A simple, single direction. But it was one we all were anticipating.
Moving in a rush, we all took out our firearms to eliminate anyone in our way. We filed in, guns blaring and shots firing. Hitting one of our own was a mistake we wanted to avoid, but with limited numbers of Dubinin men strategically running in here, we were able to prevent any casualties.
Having the blueprints of the building, courtesy of Sadie’s research, helped a lot too.
Shouts filled the room, cut off only by the steady report of gunfire.
A couple of men near me ran for it, shooting back and engaging in combat with me. Ivan and Alexsei faced the same dilemma. With all the backup working with us, though, there was no chance for any of them to defeat us.
Before I knew it, the gunfire ceased. Smoke lifted in the room, a dark haze that bothered my nose. Lights flashed on with the power being reconnected.
Ivan barked a single laugh.
I almost felt like doing the same.
The sight that met us was a bloody, gruesome one.
Bodies lay unmoving all over the room. Already, the Dubinin soldier we’d designated to document this was taking pictures.
Another wore a body cam for video evidence.
Both forms of proof that we’d done this would be confidential and kept in Luka’s personal vault for safekeeping.
It wasn’t a matter of glory. We weren’t in this to claim that these deaths were ours to brag about.
It was insurance.
Because if anyone tried to gather in the future and try to form another version of this top-secret alliance, we would have the means to show them what happened to this one.
Just for you, Sadie.
The world is a little safer now.
That would only last until the next time. But in this moment, it felt good to have pulled this off.
“That was almost too easy,” Ivan quipped, stepping over the bodies.
“Only because of the help we had,” I reminded him.
If not for Sadie, we would’ve taken longer to know all there was about this Obsidian Eye group. My father had the start of intel, but it was because of her joining sides with us that we handled this operation so well.
“Ready when you are,” a spy told me.
I nodded once, acknowledging that he was in position to burn the place down. In case anyone dared to survive, we had plans to keep Dubinin men posted to supervise the explosion and consequent fire that would erase all evidence.
Everything they’d shared here would be destroyed.
All signs that we’d ever been here would be too.
While we had recorded what was said before we entered to kill them all, we didn’t need anything else from this site.
“It’s time to go home,” I told my cousins, relieved that we’d pulled off this assault so well.
Some of us had been wounded in one-on-one combat. We’d all taken hits, kicks, and some bullets that grazed our skin. But we were all intact, in one piece, and expected to return home as soon as possible.
Ivan patted my back as we filed out. I caught Alexsei’s sober but satisfied smile.
We’d done it.
And now the rest of my life could start.
One with a woman. A child. A home and a family of my own. A partner in crime, too, with Sadie’s expertise to guide us on espionage missions like this one.
Outside, we didn't have the need to blend in or stick with our disguises. My night-vision goggles hung from my neck, bouncing as I ran into the nearest SUV. Now, we had the usual caravan. The high-end vehicles that were bullet-proof. We’d rush out of here to the private airstrip and get the fuck out of the country before anyone could be the wiser about what went down.
I never wanted to leave loose threads after a kill, but I knew without a doubt that the Dubinin men who’d linger to set off the explosion and supervise the scene would handle it without any issue. That was how we worked, like a well-oiled machine, renowned for being victorious in any situation.
Before we sped onto the bigger road out of there, the explosion went off.
“And… done,” Ivan mocked, moving his hand to indicate a mic drop.
“We need to get out of here first,” Alexsei warned.
I nodded, reaching for my phone. Calling Sadie was the first thing I’d do. She had to be anxious for news, and I wouldn’t make her suffer and wait forever.
As I lifted the device to call her, I frowned at the buzzing indication that someone was calling me.
“Why is Raisa calling me?” I asked Ivan.
“Huh?” He reached for his phone tucked behind his body armor vest.
“Hello?” I answered on speaker.
“Hurry!”
My heart raced. Adrenaline filled me all over again. She didn’t sound panicked. But she used that “mom” voice on me, the no-nonsense, do-as-I-say tone of authority.
“What?” I swallowed hard with how dry my throat was from the rush of action we’d just endured. “What’s going on? What happened? What’s wrong?”
“Sadie,” she answered. “Her water broke!”
“What?” I practically screamed it.
“Her water broke,” she repeated, calmly but firmly. “And Gabriella’s having contractions too.”
“What the fuck…” Ivan muttered. Alexsei was alert too.
“When? Why? What?” I knew what she told me, but my brain couldn’t process it.
Sadie had already spent too much time apart from me during her pregnancy.
She learned about it without me there. She was taken hostage and held away from me when I should’ve been there to protect her and provide for her.
Now she was going into labor when I was finishing a mission?
It wasn’t supposed to happen like this.
“Her water broke about three hours ago. We couldn’t get a hold of any of you. Actually, I told Luka not to interfere with the mission and distract you all.”
“This is a distraction I need to know about,” I shot back as the car continued to speed.
“It’s not,” she argued. “I said her water broke. Not that she’s having the baby right now. Calm—”
“Do not tell me to calm down,” I barked. “Is she okay? Is she in pain? Where is she?”
Feeling so far from her and helpless to do anything was the worst combination.
“Luka is personally driving her to the hospital now,” she replied. “Gabriella is too scared to go back to a delivery ward. She’s not handling the PTSD well. But Dr. Hannan is here at the house with her. The boys are helping with Andre.”
“My father took Sadie?” I asked, still too slow to just accept this and let it sink in.
“Yes. Dr. Hannan said she needs to be ready for a potential C-section because of—”
I slammed my fist on the armrest. “Fuck!”
Ivan took my phone. “Raisa. Baby. The fewer details, the better. She’s safe and out of harm’s way, right?”
“Yes, Ivan. Luka took her. Guards are with him, and another car of backup went as well.”
“Fuck,” I repeated, squeezing my eyes shut tight. “She can’t—” I couldn’t bear the idea of her going through a dramatic and nerve-racking delivery among danger like Gabby had. I didn’t relish the idea of her having to have surgery, either.
“It’s just a precaution,” Raisa said, the voice of reason again.
“Dr. Hannan is focusing on Gabriella because her contractions are getting stronger. But Sadie should be in the position to receive the best care possible, something Dr. Hannan decided wouldn’t be feasible at the house.
She’s prepared for a live birth for either of them and they are staffed and equipped for that, but in case Sadie needs an emergency op—”
“Okay, Raisa. Okay,” Ivan said. “The situation is under control, though?”
“Yes,” she replied. “Just hurry.”
The call was disconnected, and both of my cousins shook their heads.
“You are not going to freak out, man,” Ivan stated.
“It will be fine. They’re not alone. They’re safe and within range of proper medical care,” Alexsei added.
I nodded, swallowing hard and unable to calm down.
As I stared at the scenery blurring by outside the window, I wished we could travel at warp speed so I wouldn’t miss the birth of my child. So I wouldn’t fail Sadie—again—and not be there when she needed my support the most.
I’m coming, Sadie. I’ll be there as soon as I can.